“You know. From your letter. You said you have all this intensity inside you, bombarding you all the time. I never knew.”
He processed that, the interplay of emotion in his eyes so complex she couldn’t follow it. Finally, he gripped her hands and tugged her down.
Aubrey settled astride his lap. He slid his hands up her thighs to her hips, his expression that of a man who knew he was about to be thoroughly kissed.
“It’s okay,” he said. “Now you know.”
She hovered there, on some perilous brink, snared in eyes she’d met so many, many times before. But this was no longer Gallant Nobel, captain of the football team. No, this was a man who’d scribed beautiful words for her. A man she’d somehow overlooked, even though he’d been right in front of her.
She tipped forward, abuzz with heat and wine and feeling. Gallant angled his face up, his mouth finding hers, and Aubrey closed her eyes. He tasted like thyme and chardonnay. She clutched at his shirt, pressing herself closer, allowing him to part her lips with his tongue. One moment melted in the next.
He kissed her, slowly and thoroughly, his hands roaming from her hips to her back. After a few minutes, he gathered her and swiveled, pressing her into the couch and settling on top. His kisses deepened, his tongue plundering her mouth as his hands kneaded at her.
Aubrey’s world spun. She met his mounting urgency, careening too quickly for anything else.
And, for an incomparable moment, I could breathe again.
God, maybehecould breathe, but she couldn’t. She could only cling to him as her wine-soaked world whirled out of control.
Gallant released her mouth. He tongued a trail down her neck, making her shiver, then spoke heated words against her skin. “Do you want to go the bedroom? I have condoms.”
She stilled, the spreading flame inside her slowing. “You... what?”
“I want you.” He nuzzled his way up again, his breath scorching her ear. “You’re so gorgeous I can hardly stand it.”
She blinked and edged back, fighting the wine’s influence long enough to bring his face into focus. One of his hands had found its way up her shirt, and she tugged it away.
Condoms. Condoms? She couldn’t think. They’d had their first kiss all of... what, five minutes ago, and he was already jumping to sex?
“What?” he said. “What’s wrong?”
“I just. . .” Aubrey tried to keep her words from bleeding into one another. She really should’ve had one less glass of wine. Or three. “I wasn’t trying to sleep with you. Not tonight, at least. We’re just at the beginning.”
Gallant stared. For a long time, he didn’t move, just exhaled slowly through his nose.
“What?” she said. “You’re not mad, are you?”
“No.” He pulled back. “No, of course not. Sorry. I just got excited. I liked that we were getting somewhere.”
Thatsobered her. She levered into a sit and straightened her clothes. “What do you mean, ‘getting somewhere’? I’m not some touchdown you’re trying to score.”
He took her measure. “No, you’re absolutely right. You’re not. That was the wrong thing to say. That wasn’t what I meant at all.”
Her shoulders eased a fraction. That sounded genuine enough.
“I’m sorry.” He scrubbed at his hair. “I just... got carried away. Because it’s so crazy to have you here. To kiss you. Finally.”
Okay, maybe not the most eloquent apology in the world, but he’d probably spent hours honing those letters to perfection before writing them down.
“It’s okay,” she said. “And I’m sorry if I gave you the wrong idea. It’s just that I’m a five-date kind of girl. At least.”
Gallant’s brow creased. He had the grace not to ask what number they were on, though she could practically see him tallying up the mental math.
Might as well cut him a break, since he’d apologized. “This is date three. I think we’re allowed to count the first one, even if it wasn’t planned. Youdidrescue me off the sidewalk, after all.”
A smile flickered across his lips. “I do remember something like that, yes.” He leaned in and tucked her hair behind her ear. The gesture was pure tenderness, and she smiled back.
“Why don’t I take you home?” he said.
